Battle of Qaryat al-Samar

The Battle of Qaryat al-Samar (410 AD) was fought between the 980-strong Axum army of Atatafi and the 1,120-strong Himyar army of Dhakir Ali. The Axumites won a decisive victory, slaying 532 Himyarites and losing 41 dead.

History
In the 5th century, the murder of some Byzantine merchants in Himyar in response to the Roman harassment and killing of Jews triggered an invasion by Axum. A 980-strong Axumite army under Atatafi invaded Yemen, and they met an army of 1,120 Himyarite troops under Dhakir Ali on grassland at Eudaemon. The Axumites consisted of swordsmen, archers, and spear cavalry, and the Himyarites consisted almost entirely of spearmen, while their general and his bodyguards wielded swords.

The Himyarites formed a defensive position on the ridge of a hill, so the Axumites formed a defensive position at the bottom of the hill and had their archers fire on the Himyarites from half-way between the lines. The Himyarites, eager to stop the constant shower of arrows, charged downhill, where they fought the Axumite swordsmen. The Himyarite spearmen stood no chance against the better-equipped swordsmen, who hacked most of them to death. Himyar was defeated in battle, and Axum won a decisive victory.

The result of the invasion was that the Axumites established a bishopric and built Christian churches in Zafar.